


Found

by punkbean



Category: Infernal Devices Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 16:39:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6618256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkbean/pseuds/punkbean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"“Are you the new owner?” he asked, tipping his head to the side to read the name badge on his chest. James. </p><p>“Sort of,” James agreed, turning a book over a couple of times to find the barcode. “You knew Elias?”</p><p>Will nodded. “I come here quite often.”"</p><p>-</p><p>Soulmates!AU! Jem and Will meet in a bookshop.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Found

Will wasn’t sure what he had done to deserve this.

Cecily – his  _ younger sister  _ – had just gone and found her soulmate. 

She was two years younger and that should have meant that she found her soulmate two years after Will. That was only fair.

But no, she had just phoned Will and immediately started screaming down the phone but when she was speaking slowly enough to understand, she explained that she had found her soulmate and he was apparently hot and funny. 

Of course Will was happy for her, but he couldn’t help feeling sort of bitter. Sometimes he felt like he’d never find his soulmate. 

Everyone got a name somewhere on their body. Some got it when they were children, some when they were teenagers, and some when they were adults.

Will got his when he was sixteen. He had been putting his school uniform on one morning, still half-asleep, when he noticed black marks just below his collarbone. 

He dashed to a mirror to see what they said but of course, because Will had the worst luck in the world, they were in Chinese. 

After a while spent squinting at them and hoping they might become clear to him because of ‘soulmate magic’ or whatever, his mother was calling him and he had to run to make it to the school bus on time.

That night, he tried to copy the Chinese characters onto paper. It was difficult but soon he thought he had a decent copy. 

He carefully wrote the characters into Google Translate. Yes, it wasn’t completely accurate, but it was a start and it gave Will something to work with: Ke Jian Ming.

He listened to the robotic Google voice read the name a couple of times. He didn’t know if it was a male or a female name, but that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he actually had a soulmate. 

It was common practise not to show people the name. Sometimes Will was tempted – maybe someone had a similar issue and he wouldn’t have to deal with it alone – but he dealt with everything else alone, and he could do this.

He got through three years of university then moved to London to work at a publishing house. 

It was pretty much a dream job. He got to read for a living and he lived in a great city. 

He was sure he was more likely to meet Ke Jian Ming here. He loved Wales, but most people who lived in his town were white. 

Of course the fact that there were far more Chinese people in London didn’t mean that Ke Jian Ming would be there, but at least it felt within reach. 

It was Monday morning and Will was sitting at his desk at work, making notes about the latest manuscript he’d been given to read. 

It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t bad either. It definitely wouldn’t be a bestseller. He was just trying to decide what to write when the office door opened.

Tessa walked in, balancing two folders and a coffee in her arms. “Any luck with the soulmate?” she asked, grinning at him as she sat down.

Will rolled his eyes fondly. “Nope. You?” 

Tessa shook her head as she got settled at her desk. 

When he had learned that he would be sharing an office, Will hadn’t been best pleased, but then he’d met Tessa and couldn’t imagine having an office without her. She always provided amusing comments, and she made Will work even when he was being lazy. 

Plus, one night they had gotten a bit too drunk and ended up making out for a long time. They had stopped before they actually had sex, but Tessa had seen the name below Will’s collarbone and they spent the rest of the evening talking about soulmates.

That had been one of the weirdest nights of Will’s life, but things were definitely better now that he could talk to Tessa about things. 

They spent the day working and occasionally taking time to chat or show each other interesting parts in the manuscripts each of them were reading, and soon enough it was four o’clock. 

“Are you doing anything exciting this weekend?” Tessa asked as they made their way out of the building, waving to the receptionist.

Will shook his head. Not too long ago he would have made up a story about some exciting plans he had for the weekend, but now Tessa was his best friend he didn’t feel embarrassed about the fact that his most exciting plan was buying a book. 

“Locking myself in my flat and reading for two days solid,” he told her, draping his coat over his arm. It had been chilly that morning but it was starting to feel warmer in the afternoons.

“I’m jealous,” Tessa said wistfully. “I promised a friend I’d go to a bar with her. She thinks her soulmate might be there because he apparently has an unusual name and she heard someone mention it or something.”

Will snorted. “Good luck to her. She’s further along than me. Maybe I should have dedicated my life to learning Chinese, then I’d have a better chance of finding them.”

“Oh, come on. The fact that it’s in Chinese isn’t necessarily the reason you haven’t found them. I’m pretty sure Jessamine is most likely to be English or French and I haven’t found her, so don’t blame the language,” Tessa teased.

“Yeah, fine. But you’re more likely to be able to pick Jessamine out in a conversation. I probably couldn’t differentiate between Ke Jian Ming and the Chinese word for toilet. Whatever that is.”

“I’m sure you’ll find them. They’re probably listening out for Will Herondale, so maybe they’ll find you,” Tessa assured him. 

She was right, of course, but that wasn’t what Will wanted to hear. He preferred to be proactive instead of just waiting for people to come to him.

They walked and chatted for a few more minutes – determinedly avoiding the topic of soulmates – when Will stopped. 

“I’m going in here,” he said, gesturing towards the bookshop they had stopped beside. 

“Of course you are,” Tessa said, nudging him in the ribs. “You’ll become part of the furniture soon.”

Will nudged her back. “It’s the best bookshop in the city. You know that.”

Tessa rolled her eyes, but didn’t continue the nudge war. “I know. Have you been in since Elias left?” 

“No, actually,” Will said. Elias had owned the shop for as long as Will had lived in London, and he wasn’t sure what it would be like without him there. He had always offered book recommendations and a friendly chat. “Have you?” 

“I have. He’s nice. Don’t worry, Elias didn’t sell out or anything,” Tessa assured him. “I’d better go and meet Sophie, but I’ll see you on Monday.”

Will wrapped her in a quick hug. “See you on Monday,” he agreed.

“Maybe we can go for coffee over the weekend. If I can drag you out of your book cave, that is,” Tessa suggested. “I’ll text you. See you, Will!”

She patted his arm and turned to walk away down the street. Will watched her for a few seconds before letting himself into the bookshop.

The shop was relatively big, but the bookshelves were piled high with all manner of things. Will had been worried that the shop might feel different with Elias gone, but it felt just as homely as before. There were people shuffling around trying to find their books, murmuring quietly to each other, but it was mostly quiet. 

For a while, Will let himself get lost between the shelves, and by the time he was done he had six books and it was almost five. 

The shop had mostly emptied out, so there wasn’t a queue at the counter. There was a young man with dark hair facing the computer, but when Will put his books down, he turned around.

Will had thought of Elias as a friend, even if he was just a friendly shop owner, but he decided he wouldn’t complain if this was the new owner. 

He was young and too beautiful to be real and he was smiling as he scanned Will’s books. 

Will would have been happy to stare at him the whole time, but if he was going to see him on a regular basis he thought he should try not to seem like a creep.

“Are you the new owner?” he asked, tipping his head to the side to read the name badge on his chest. James. He knew it was silly to hope every attractive person who could be Chinese would be his soulmate, but a man could dream.

“Sort of,” James agreed, turning a book over a couple of times to find the barcode. “You knew Elias?” 

Will nodded. “I come here quite often.”

“He’s my uncle. He still owns the place but he’s concentrating on other things, so he’s letting me look after the shop for a while,” James explained. 

“That’s nice. Wish I had an uncle with a bookshop. You’re a lucky man, James,” Will teased, leaning against the counter.

James looked confused for a moment, then he glanced down at his name badge. “I forgot about that. Please call me Jem. Nobody ever calls me James.”

“Right. Jem,” Will echoed. “I’m Will.”

Jem had a strange look on his face for a moment, but it quickly smoothed over. “Do you need a bag?” 

“Yes please,” Will agreed. Usually he just put the books in his bag with his work things, but he didn’t usually buy so many books and his bag was already quite full. 

“Do you always buy this many books?” Jem asked, sliding the books into a bag for him.

“Not always. But sometimes it’s impossible to restrain myself,” Will teased.

Jem laughed and counted out Will’s change before passing the books to him. “Maybe see you again soon,” he said with a smile. 

Will wished he had a way to subtly take a picture of him, then decided that that was creepy and bid him goodbye before leaving.

* * *

 

The books Will chose were good, but he couldn’t seem to get Jem out of his head even though he knew they weren't soulmates.

He got through the six books he’d bought in just over a week. He sort of wanted to make himself wait to go back and buy more, but now it was Saturday and he knew he would need to get more if he didn’t want to get bored over the weekend. 

Tessa met him for lunch and coffee and they went to the bookshop together. It was predictably busier on a Saturday afternoon than it was on a Friday evening, but it wasn’t overflowing with tourists like some of the bookshops in central London. 

While they went between the shelves, Tessa reached up to tug at the collar of Will’s shirt. “Don’t people usually try to hide their names?” she asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

Will rolled his eyes and swatted her hand away gently. “If anyone asks I’ll just tell them it’s a tattoo.”

“What will you tell them it means?” Tessa asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

“I don’t know. Soup or something. White people get tattoos in Chinese all the time, I can pretend to be one of them,” Will said. 

Tessa laughed, pulling him through to the next shelves. 

They browsed for a while, Tessa ending up with four books and Will with only two. 

Will was still browsing while Tessa went to pay for her books. He could hear her talking to Jem, and he had to try and convince himself that he wasn’t actually excited to talk to this man he’d spoken to once before in his life.

He heard Tessa finish paying and emerged from the shelves to pay for his own books.

Jem smiled when he saw Will. 

(Will was determined not to think about that, though. He probably smiled at all his customers. He had probably smiled at Tessa in exactly the same way). 

“Only two today?” Jem asked, scanning the books. 

“I told you I can be restrained sometimes,” Will said, grinning at him. 

Jem’s shirt was unbuttoned enough that Will had to force himself not to stare at his chest. He thought he did a good job of acting natural when Jem spoke again. “I’ve read this. It’s one of my uncle’s favourite books.”

“Elias or another uncle?” Will asked, digging through his pockets to find his wallet.

“Elias. I only told you that because you know Elias as well,” Jem said, putting the books on the counter. “Will you be needing a bag today?”

Will hadn’t brought a bag with him, so he nodded. “Speaking of Elias, is he your uncle by blood or is he just a family friend? You don’t exactly look alike.”

“Will!” Tessa hissed from where she was looking at the books by the door. 

Jem laughed. “It’s fine,” he said to Tessa. Then he turned back to Will. “Uncle by blood. He’s my dad’s brother. We don’t look alike because my mother was Chinese.”

Will tried to ignore the weird flutter in his chest when Jem confirmed that he was Chinese. He already knew that they weren’t soulmates. If they were, he was sure Jem would have said something when he learned Will’s name. 

“That’s nice,” Will said, handing his money over. He realised belatedly that Jem had referred to his mother in the past tense, but decided not to dwell on that. He was sure Jem wouldn’t want to talk about that kind of thing to someone who was practically a stranger.

Part of him wanted to ask Jem if he knew Chinese, but he wasn’t sure how to broach the subject without sounding insensitive. 

“See you again soon,” Jem said as he picked up Will’s bag and held it out for him. 

When Will reached out to take it, though, he froze. He looked pale, and he had a strange look on his face. 

“Are you alright?” Will asked. Jem hadn’t picked the bag up fully, and he was staring at Will’s shoulder.

Will glanced down at himself and realised that half of the name on his collarbone was showing. He looked back up to Jem, who had put the bag back on the counter. 

Jem swallowed and looked back up to Will’s face. “You wouldn’t happen to be William Herondale, would you?” he asked. 

Will couldn’t remember if he’d told Jem that or not. Maybe Jem and Tessa had talked about him. 

“I’m Will Herondale,” Will agreed. “Are you okay?” 

Jem nodded slowly, then gestured to Will’s shoulder. “Can I see that?”

Will didn’t hesitate to pull the collar of his t-shirt aside to reveal the whole name. “Do you speak Chinese?”

“That’s me,” Jem said, reaching out and brushing his fingers against Will’s collarbone. 

“But you’re Jem,” Will said blankly. 

“Jem Carstairs,” Jem agreed. “But I lived in China for most of my childhood, where I was Jian Ming.”

Will sort of felt like he was floating, and Jem’s cool fingers against his collarbone were the only thing keeping him grounded. 

“You didn’t ask me about my name being Will,” Will said. He had always imagined himself saying something far more charming and witty when he found his soulmate, but it felt like he was in a dream. 

“I’ve met a lot of Williams since coming to London,” Jem told him. “I kind of assumed you’d have James instead of Jian Ming.” 

Jem dropped his fingers from Will’s collarbone and he pushed his own shirt aside. ‘William Herondale’ was written in neat script beneath Jem’s collarbone. 

“So we’re soulmates,” Will said. 

Jem nodded slowly. “We are,” he agreed. “I have to work all afternoon, but I finish at five if you want to do something.” 

“I’d love that,” Will agreed. He turned to face Tessa, but she was gone from where she had been standing a few minutes previously. He pulled his phone out to see a text from her.

_ Tessa: I told you you’d find him!! At least he’s cute. See you Monday! X _

“You can stay around here if you want to,” Jem offered. “It’s fine if you don’t, it might not be your idea of fun to sit around a bookshop all afternoon, but–”

“Are you joking?” Will interjected. “An afternoon in a bookshop is my idea of heaven.”

Jem grinned and lifted a section of the counter. “Sit back here if you want.”

Will slipped behind the counter. The shop looked different from behind it; almost bigger. There was a small, overstuffed armchair in the corner with a small pile of books on the ground beside it, as well as a violin case propped up against the wall. 

“I have to keep myself busy when the shop isn’t busy,” Jem said with a shrug. He passed Will’s two books in the bag to him. 

“You play the violin?” Will asked, putting his books on the armchair. 

Jem nodded. “Yeah. Although I don’t do that very much in here. I get nervous that customers will hate it.”

“I’m sure you’re good,” Will said, leaning against the counter. 

“You’re just biased because you’re my soulmate,” Jem teased, pushing his shoulder playfully.

Will grinned and poked Jem in the side. “Maybe I am. If you really are awful I’ll let you know, though.” 

Jem laughed. “Thank you so much.” 

They watched each other for a moment, then Jem reached up to touch the back of his hand to Will’s cheek. 

“I thought you were handsome when we first met,” he said. 

Will fought the urge to laugh. “So did I. I mean I thought that you were handsome. Not that I don’t think I’m handsome.”

Jem raised his eyebrows. He looked like he was trying not to laugh as well. “Do you want a kiss?” 

Will nodded. At least if they were kissing then he couldn’t embarrass himself further by talking. 

Jem leaned forward and pressed his lips to Will’s for a moment. All too soon, he pulled away. “I have customers to serve. We can do more of that later.”

Will couldn’t resist giving him an extra peck on the lips. He laughed at the surprised expression on Jem’s face before sitting on the armchair, folding his legs and getting started on the book Jem had recommended. 

**Author's Note:**

> I know I should probably try to update the stories people are invested in, but I have been in a very heronstairs mood recently so here we are!
> 
> I don't know how I feel about this, I started writing it earlier in the week but didn't have a proper idea, but then came back to it tonight! I hope it comes across alright! 
> 
> I feel like this might be too similar to my other heronstairs fic but I definitely think Will would be an extremely chatty customer and Jem would tolerate him because he's funny and handsome (♥ω♥*)
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading!!


End file.
